Reine de (((Bottled 2019)))
⏳ Drinking Window
Virtually indefinite aging potential; highly enjoyable now but will evolve beautifully over 10 to 30+ years.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Dark chocolate truffles, blue cheese, apple tarte tatin
✨ Technical Specifications
Reine des Liqueurs (often referred to as 'Reine de' in collector circles) is an exceptional, limited-edition cuvée of Yellow Chartreuse that pays homage to the historic 19th-century moniker 'La Reine des Liqueurs'—the Queen of Liqueurs. This title was originally bestowed upon the Yellow expression for its softer, sweeter, and highly aromatic profile compared to its intense Green sibling. Handcrafted by the Carthusian Monks using their secret recipe of 130 botanicals, this bottling represents a meticulous selection of the finest, most harmonious oak casks of Yellow Chartreuse. The bottling of 2019 showcases a sublime balance of honeyed sweetness, saffron, anise, citrus peel, and delicate alpine herbs, offering a voluptuous texture and a legendary finish that bridges centuries of monastic tradition.
🍾 About the Producer
Chartreuse represents one of the world's most legendary and enigmatic spirit traditions, rooted in an alchemical manuscript for an 'elixir of long life' presented to the Carthusian monks by François Annibal d'Estrées in 1605. Brother Jérôme Maubec and Brother Antoine spent decades unraveling its formula, establishing the Élixir Végétal in 1764 and Green Chartreuse in 1840. While production historically migrated from Fourvoirie to Tarragona during monastic expulsion, and later Voiron, primary distillation moved to the Aiguenoire facility in Entre-Deux-Guiers in 2018. Surrounded by the limestone massifs of the Prealps, only two designated Carthusian monks hold the complete secret formula, overseeing the selection, weighing, and blending of 130 alpine herbs, plants, and botanicals. The complex multi-stage macerations and copper pot distillations age in colossal uncharred oak foudres, creating peerlessly complex liqueurs capable of decades of bottle maturation. Benchmark expressions include the intensely herbal Green Chartreuse (55% ABV), saffron-tinged Yellow Chartreuse (43% ABV), and extended-cellared V.E.P. bottlings.